Trespassers
by muchachaporfavor
Summary: Having just gotten out of Laboratory Five, you'd think Ed and Al had enough problems. But a group of people against the military have started killing off military personnel, and sometimes even supporters. Now these annoying amateurs want to tag along...
1. A Sense of Foreboding

Author's Note: We've all seen the fanfictions in which two female alchemists newly accepted into State are taken under Ed's wing and fall for the two Elric brothers, the boys in question eventually returning their feelings. I know my past writing says otherwise, but I can assure you, this will be different. So, just give it a chance, alright? Alright! Let's get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I'll own FullMetal Alchemist when Ed stops being short. –brick'd by Edward-

**Chapter One: A Sense of Foreboding**

The sun was barely shining through a cloudy sky, its weak rays passing through the glass of a window in Central's new Library, constructed by the State Alchemists and filled with books donated by alchemists who no longer needed them. In the midst of a mess of papers and books at a table near a particularly bright window, sat a blond perched on the table and a large suit of armor. The suit of armor sat in a chair, the wooden chair looking about ready to collapse from the weight. A book was in its chain mail hands, two glowing orbs in the eyeholes moving as they followed the lines of text. He flipped the page and sighed, the noise sounding slightly hollow, as if someone was in the armor. And technically- there was. Of course, only a select few knew the details of this technicality.

The blond's golden eyes stopped in the middle of a line, his concentration uncharacteristically low today. Although, normally, there weren't quite so many people being 'escorted' out of the Library. Hopeful alchemists were rolling into Central for the state alchemy exam that was due to happen in three weeks. Ever since the blond teen had been accepted into the State, the hopefuls had steadily gotten younger and younger until they reached his current age: sixteen. These mere teenagers often attempted to gain access to the Central Library, which was restricted to military use, and were promptly booted out. At first it had been rather amusing to watch the different schemes and antics the alchemists tried in order to pry their way in, but now...

"This is starting to tick me off," the blond growled, snapping his book closed with a twitch of his fingers. The suit of armor lifted its helmet of a head, the glowing orbs fixed on his companion.

"We could always come back at a later time, Ed," said the suit of armor in the voice of a young boy. Really, the boy 'inside' the armor would be fifteen... if he could age. As a spirit attached to that suit of armor, he could move, talk, hear, and see, but no longer had the sense of touch or taste, nor could his voice age, since the spirit was still that of a ten-year-old.

The blond, Ed, looked over at him and sighed quietly, getting off his perch at the table. He slapped his book down on the table, shaking his head. "They'll still be at it, thinking they can pull all-nighters. You remember how much you and I did that, Al..."

Yes, the two Elric brothers. Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist, and Alphonse Elric, the often-assumed FullMetal. They had been reading up on the Philosopher's Stone, as they often did. If there was anything missed, anything accidentally misinterpreted, or anything that could be interpreted differently, Edward wanted to find it. Humans. They were the main ingredients for such an alchemical enhancer. Edward shook his head. He didn't want to think about it. There had to be another way, and he would find it. He and his younger brother _would_ find it and get their old bodies back.

"Well, then... let's take a break, anyway. I'm sure you're hungry- you ate breakfast too fast so you could beat the other alchemists here," Al suggested, standing up and putting his book down next to a pile of papers. Edward slouched his shoulders in disappointment, obviously finding it unfair that just because some newbies were idiots, _his_ time was wasted. He started out and Alphonse followed.

They found a small crowd of alchemists being blocked off by four security guards. Only a few- at the most five or six- were actually older than twenty-two. Edward rolled his eyes at the sight of two alchemists arguing with the guard that was blocking them off. Surprisingly, both were female. Sure, there were female alchemists, but one didn't often see them trying for State.

One shouted comment caught his attention and pricked his temper: "What does it matter? I'm going to pass the test, anyway!"

That kind of arrogance really grated on his nerves. He turned to look at the girl. She was about as tall as he was- maybe an inch taller if Ed were to take off his shoes. Her hands were on her hips and she glared up at the guard. There wasn't anything special about her. She didn't hold the determination- the motivation- in her eyes. None of them had it. Sometimes it made him sick to think that he could very well be the only State Alchemist who came to such a position after a long series of obstacles- painful obstacles. It was sickening to think that he had to lose so much just to even get the _idea_ of becoming a State Alchemist in his head.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the second girl agree, and the others around them shout a chorus of "Yeah"s and "She's right"s. "Ed?" Edward snapped out of it at the sound of his brother's questioning voice.

"Let's go," he muttered moodily, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets as he began at a fast pace down the street. He gave once last glance back at the girl. As he turned back around, he snickered at the sight of her being thrown off the steps to the Library to fall onto her rear end at the foot of the stairs.

_Elsewhere..._

Blood slid down the breakfast bar's side, creeping over the painted wood. The same red liquid stained a pair of adolescent hands- an artist's hands. The fingers of this hand twitched ever so slightly before they fell limp, falling victim to their body's unconsciousness. The sound of a door opening sounded through the almost empty home, followed by two pairs of footsteps and the thunk of the door closing.

"Hello! We're home!" called an older woman from the room just beyond. In came the woman, who stopped in midstep at the sight that lay on the floor of the entrance to her kitchen.

"Hey, Mom? She home?" called a younger male whose voice had not yet changed.

The woman barely managed to even start to form the words "Call 911" before fat tears spilled out onto her cheeks in steady, fast-flowing streams. "My... MY BABY!" she shrieked, running to the form of her daughter in a heap on the floor. There was a large gash on her head, blood flowing from the wound. As she heard her son practically shouting in panic at the people on the phone, her daughter was trying to fight her way out of a dark, dark place.

_"Why would you want to leave?" _

_"Isn't it getting tiring? Isn't high school getting to be too much?" _

_"You upset three people today- your friends." _

_"You know they're tired of you... why not come here, to this world?" _

The daughter could hear the voices echoing throughout the darkness. She couldn't see anything but hundreds of thousands of little faces staring at her- never blinking, just staring with their wide violet eyes. Hands seemed to grab at her, trying to pull her back and away from the distant cries of her mother.

_"Why would you want to go back? She's just going to find out about that homework assignment you put off until the last minute." _

_"And your other friend died a week ago, didn't she?" _

She froze in her place and felt something slithering like a snake around her waist, only it had appendages- fingers. Looking down, she tried to see what it was, but there were faces crawling up and blocking her view.

_"Run away from the pain. Let us take you to another place." _

A look of fear crossed her face, and she swung her hands in the direction of the faces. "Stop! Stop!" she cried. One merely leaned back and out of the way, still clutching onto her, while the other snapped at her hand. She quickly snatched her hand back. Tears welled up in her eyes. Oh, how badly she wanted to go somewhere else- just for a while. These creatures hadn't, after all, said how long she had to stay. "...What... do I have to do?"

_"All you have to give us to live... is your memory." _

It didn't seem like a bad deal. After all, her memories could easily be regained with time, or someone could explain things to her. "...It's a deal."

Each one of the faces grinned all at the same time, slowly and eerily. As many black hands extended like elastic to reach her head, she felt she might have trespassed onto foreboding territory.


	2. An Air of Entitlement

Author's Note: 'Kay, so… just letting you know… I have like, seven chapters written already. But I'm not gonna post them this fast (usually), so that way if I get behind on writing more chapters, I can post some of the ones I haven't posted in the meantime. …That sounds confusing… 

Disclaimer: Money doesn't grow on trees, chief! …And that's EXACTLY why I don't own FullMetal Alchemist! –whimpercry-

**Chapter Two: An Air of Entitlement**

"What?!" Edward cried as he slammed his hands on the edge of Colonel Mustang's desk. The Flame Alchemist gave the blond a stern glare and aligned the papers in his hands.

"I don't like the idea of training little newbies, either," Roy said, his calm tone hinting at aggravation. If he had to put up with some new recruit's questions, he wouldn't last too long. Being Colonel wasn't easy as it was. He did _not_ want to babysit or play teacher, as well. He blinked his dark eyes, wondering if there was a way to get out of it.

As an idea came to mind, he glanced at Ed and made a shooing motion towards the door. "I have a lot of work to do," he said flatly, fingering through the papers he'd just tidied. The FullMetal's left upper cheek twitched twice before he stood and stomped out the door, his face set into an agitated frown.

Al turned to him as he came out of the door. "Brother, what was it that you got so angry about?" he asked. Normally the Colonel didn't make Ed too mad, so it must have been some kind of bad news.

Edward stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor, glaring at it. He then began to walk outside of the Headquarters as he explained. "Every State Alchemist who has been in the position prior to the upcoming exam has to 'teach' one or two new recruits, as a way to prepare them for military affairs or whatever."

Al stared at his brother, though he would have looked taken aback if he were human. "Why?" he inquired, though he had a pretty good idea.

"Rebels. The Fuhrer wants to up our chances against them." Al sighed and gave a nod of confirmation to his suspicions. Yes, the Rebels. For one reason or another, someone had decided to form a group that was against the government. They were so passionate in their hate for the government that they went as far as killing those in the military, even family or supporters of the government. Who were in the group and where this group was located, the government had no idea.

"…And you're expected to… teach… a new recruit, too?" Alphonse watched Ed's expression become even sourer.

"We don't have time for that. Mustang _knows_ that. But that bastard won't even consider letting me skip out." Edward clenched his fists. "Damn it."

Alphonse sighed again, hoping his elder brother didn't get too riled up. When he did, he tended to take it out on people. And, since they seemed to be taking the long way to the Library, he knew they'd be interacting with at least the librarians. He looked around, noticing the street lamps were starting to come on and the sun was almost set. Well, at least he wouldn't scare any State hopefuls.

Then there was a feminine (but very loud) cry of, "YOU! DUCK NOW!" Then the shot of a gun. The brothers looked at each other and then in the direction of the noises, starting to run in that direction. A bright flash of light and a scream of surprise broke the peace of the evening and the two alchemist brothers' paces escalated.

Edward made a sharp turn into an alleyway, nearly falling over from the suddenness of it. But the move led him closer to the brawl, so he didn't complain. He stopped short a few feet away from the other end of the alley as a stream of water jetted by. Apparently it hit the target, since there was the sound of someone getting punched in the stomach.

Ed, unable to determine if the water alchemist was the victim or attacker, dashed to the front of the alley, Al catching up behind. He peered down the direction in the street that the water had flown to find a brunette girl jogging away from a man in black, his head wrapped in a black cloth so only his eyes could be seen. He had a gun in each hand and was coughing, one hand over his stomach.

The chestnut-haired girl's straight shoulder length locks bounced behind her as she ran over to the direction the water had come from, but Edward did not see an expression of fear on her face. Rather, she seemed angry. "Thanks for that!" she said to the figure standing there, giving an appreciative smile to the person. Ed's miffed expression returned upon seeing who it was.

Standing under the light of a street lamp, the annoying girl flipped her golden brown curls over her shoulder, where they settled at her waist. His eyes narrowed upon seeing that her hands were on her hips, much like they had been earlier. Also like earlier, her eyes were set in a glare at the attacker. Yes, the girl from the library- the one with the air of entitlement. Edward leaned against the alleyway wall, glaring at her in the shadows.

"Brother, shouldn't we help them?" Alphonse whispered, making sure to stay hidden as well. Ed glanced at him briefly before looking back to the oncoming fight. The girl was reaching into her right sleeve now, watching the man get up.

"She needs to learn not to be so damn spoiled. We'll help them in a little bit," he muttered.

The straight-haired girl touched the buckle of her belt, shaped like a transmutation circle. "What's your name, anyway?" she asked the other, though not taking her eyes off the man.

"Erin. Erin Burke," Edward's current object of dislike answered, stepping forward and taking her hand out of her sleeve. He glanced at it, finding no weapon. He figured she must have touched some kind of accessory with a transmutation circle. He rolled his eyes. _"Girls."_

"Magiere Taylor." The man glanced at the two out of the corner of his eyes and quickly shot up, firing shots at them.

"DIE YOU MILITARY WENCHES!" he cried with a satisfied grin on his face.

Magiere lifted her hand and wind seemed to pick up in front of it, spreading to make a miniature spiraling hurricane that blocked her torso. She then pushed forward and the wind's force stopped the bullets, causing them to fall to the ground. Several lights in the area flickered on in windows.

As Magiere moved to touch her belt again and get out of the way of more bullets, Erin waved her hand in front of her, as if wiping a window quickly. The back of the thick blanket of water she formed hardened into ice. As the bullets began through, they were slowed by the water enough to make them pierce the ice, but get stuck. Her left hand once again slipped into her sleeve, and then wall of water fell to the ground, the ice shattering at her feet.

"Same to you, Rebel scum!" Erin shouted. "You can either turn yourself in or get beaten to a pulp!" Magiere made a short windmill motion with her arm, extended to the side, and then swung her arm across to her other side, a shaft of concentrated wind blowing at the Rebel. He jumped to the side, but his arm was caught in the shaft and was blown back. He gave a howl of pain as his arm blew back a little too far, and he let go of his second gun.

"Alchemists, huh?" the man panted, his arm twitching at his side once the wind had passed. Erin held up her hand to Magiere, signaling for her to wait a moment, and ran toward the guy. He fired bullets at her and she zigzagged here and there as she charged. Now and then she wouldn't be able to get out of the way so she'd merely duck or jump, or she'd use the same water wall trick.

When she was a mere three yards away, she dropped to the ground. The momentum caused her to slide along the icy streets, one leg extended to kick the guy in his leg. But the Rebel was provoked, now, and had every intent to kill her. He planned to shoot her in the heart as she passed under him. When he realized she wasn't going under him, but rather for his leg, he didn't have time to aim for her heart, so he shot her in her extended leg's calf.

Edward heard the distant wail of police cars, but they were too far off to get here soon enough. Magiere blew another blast of wind at him as he aimed, but this just caused him to accidentally pull his trigger more than once. Erin yelped when she heard the bullets fired, and touched underneath her sleeve again. She slapped her hands on the ground and a concrete dome began forming around her.

Ed's eyes widened as he heard two screams before the dome closed up, the two other bullets getting caught in the dome's surface. Damn. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. He ran forward, clapping his hands together. The ground shot up around the Rebel, forming a jail cell around him.

He merely grinned at the alchemist brothers and Magiere as they ran towards the dome. "Heh heh… my sacrifice will mean the downfall of your stupid government." Al looked over and gasped as he put the gun to his head.

"No, STOP!" the younger Elric cried. The Rebel, however, had already pulled the trigger. Al flinched at the sound of the bullet shattering through the skull. He returned his attention to his brother, however, as a clapping noise sounded.

Ed watched as the dome slowly peeled away, back into the ground where its material belonged. Looking at Erin, he found blood leaking in a steady stream from bullet wounds on her lower back, side, and leg. Damn, he was in trouble. He reached over to shake her unconscious form, when he was pushed onto his rear end.

He looked up to find Magiere glaring at him, her fists clenched at her side. "What's your _PROBLEM_?!" she shouted, face red and her expression livid. Her arm jerked in the direction of the alley they had been hiding in before returning to her side, and Edward paled. DAMN. "I _saw_ you over there! I had thought you might be some other Rebel or rapist or whatever, but since you didn't do anything, I didn't think twice about you! You're telling me you were standing _right there_ just WATCHING US IN _THREAT OF BEING KILLED_?!"

Edward's golden eyes narrowed, but when Al put a hand on his shoulder, he realized that was all he could really do. What was he supposed to say? "Oh, well, you guys needed to be taught a lesson for earlier, so I was just going to wait and see if you really needed my help." He didn't think she'd take such a sentence well, and neither would the authorities.

He looked toward the people slowly peeking out of their doors and windows, as well as the police cars approaching. "Look," Ed muttered, peering back at her as he stood. Al reached down and picked up Erin, watching the two.

"Brother…" Al said in a worried tone, looking over to the police cars.

"Can you just keep quiet about this?" Edward asked, his voice restrained as if he was trying to keep from sounding rude.

"And why?" she hissed, leaning over to intensify her glare. "What do Erin and I get in return for her injuries?"

Ed was getting a bit desperate. It wasn't like him to promise people things, since he hated the feeling of having given in. But how would he get out of this? Magiere would tattle to the police. He wouldn't go to jail- he knew that. He was, after all, a State Alchemist, and one well known for his good deeds, to boot. Most likely, he'd lose his position as a State. But he couldn't let that happen. He needed the privileges being a State Alchemist gave him, so he could return he and Al to normal. "I'll… give you anything you want. Money… whatever… you name it…" he stammered, having a hard time getting the words out. He really, really didn't want to do this.

Magiere's expression faded slightly and then went neutral as the police parked and started to get out of their cars. A smirk played on her lips as she parroted, "…Anything?"


	3. A Feeling of Things to Come

Author's Note: Man, I love the end of this chapter. Magiere rocks my socks, and she's not even MY character. xD So um... yeah. Chapter Three. Nothing very special to say, other than I haven't started a new chapter, so chapter four won't be released until at least next week. ...That is, unless I get grounded from the Internet or something...

Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist, but I do own Erin Burke. Magiere Taylor is property of my dear friend. ...OH MY GOD. A BORING DISCLAIMER! -faint-

**Chapter Three: A Feeling of Things to Come**

Edward grumbled angrily beneath his breath, still miffed that he owed someone. He lifted his gaze from the wood floor of Erin's room and glanced at Magiere, who gave him a bright beam of triumph. He shook his head and ran his gloved hand through his bangs before he looked around the room. It wasn't the best of hospitals. Magiere had told Ed that he'd have to pay for the hospital, seeing as her injuries were partially his fault. Miffed, he had chosen a dinky little one to spite her. Magiere, however, merely huffed and accepted it. The wood was normal hardwood with one off-white rug on the floor. There was a window, a bedside table, a bed, and a small table/desk in the room they were currently in. And that was it.

His golden eyes wandered back to the bed and the sleeping form there. Though he really disliked her, he felt bad that he had caused someone to get hurt for his own selfish reasons. What was wrong with him, he wondered? Groaning quietly, he slumped down into his chair and leaned back a little, resting his arm over his eyes to block out the light. Lately Ed had been having strange moments where he did things uncharacteristically mean. Granted, he wasn't an extremely buddy-buddy person in the first place, but even so... He lifted his arm slightly to look at the girl again. She was hugging her second pillow possessively, like a spoiled brat child hugging the best teddy bear in the store. He snorted and mused that he wouldn't be surprised if she had been spoiled like that as a kid.

Even if he wasn't friendly to the people he didn't particularly like, he wasn't cruel to them. He wouldn't let an innocent girl no older than himself get shot thrice. ...Would he? Edward closed his eyes and remembered Clause, the girl from Mahajal's town. He hadn't liked her annoying attitude at all, but he still went after her when she ran off. And in the end, she'd turned out to be kind of cute. Ed's eyes remained closed as he rose his eyebrows. No, he wouldn't have left an innocent girl to get hurt. He shouldn't have done that... but he had, and it bothered him.

"Brother?" Ed let his arm drop back to his side with a sigh and looked over at Al, giving him a cheeky smile.

"Don't worry 'bout me. I'm just reluctant to holding up my end of the bargain," he lied, nodding to Magiere. He blinked when he realized she wasn't where he'd indicated. Then he heard the sound of Al gasping. He turned to find Magiere lifting the helmet up and peering inside, her feet sliding along the floor from Al's hands pushing her away. The younger alchemist finally succeeded and she lost her balance, flailing and yelping as she stumbled back.

Once she regained her footing, she shifted her weight to one hip and put her hand on that hip. "Hey now, I was just trying to see what you look like," she explained, sounding rather pouty about it. She shrugged and held out a hand to each of them. "Magiere Taylor. ...But you probably already know that, seeing as you listened in on the fight."

As Alphonse shook her hand, he replied, "We're really sorry, Magiere. We thought you'd be able to handle it until it was too late. You two are, after all, very _talented_ alchemists." When Ed turned sharply towards his brother to make a remark about that statement, Al looked to him. Though his metallic face bore no expression, Ed took the hint and reluctantly shook Magiere's hand.

"Yeah. Before we knew it, Erin was eating bullets." Ed said this rather rudely, and Magiere glared at him, letting go of his hand on the spot. She returned Al's shake and then let go, giving him a polite half-hearted smile.

"Well, obviously not talented enough to handle one Rebel." She twirled one of the thick strands of hair that hung in front of her ears, sighing. "I guess this is why the new recruits needs teachers... supervisors... whatever they are."

Ed rolled his amber orbs and shook his head. "No, you're talented enough. Erin just got too cocky and blew it."

"Well I _thought_ it would work. I'm sorry that I didn't use my awesome skills to look into the future, but I'll take a mental note to try that next time," came the venom-laced sarcastic voice of Erin from her bed. She tried to sit up and her arms gave out quickly due to the soreness of her torso. So she settled for rolling onto her side to face the three of them, glaring at Edward for his remark. Ed narrowed his eyes right back at her, though it was a bit half-hearted. He felt kind of guilty, seeing her unable to even sit up to give him a proper glare. Finally he just looked away, cursing her and cursing himself and cursing those damn Rebels.

Magiere, who didn't want a fight to spark between the two, announced, "Well, let's go to the Library, shall we? And don't forget..." She paused to give Edward a stern look, saying that if he didn't hold up his end of the bargain, she'd tell. "...We have to bring back some books for Erin to study." She turned to smile at Erin. "You just work on getting better for now, okay?"

Erin's expression softened to that of confusion, having no idea what was going on. "...Huh?" she asked, looking back and forth from Ed to Magiere. _"When had they made plans to go to the Library?,"_ she wondered. Erin gave a small wave of parting to Magiere and nodded. "Thank you, Magiere." Magiere gave a curt nod and turned to walk out, the Elrics reluctantly following behind.

As Magiere walked ahead, humming happily to herself, Al turned to look at his brother. He looked as moody as ever with his hands stuck in his pockets and his eyes set in a firm glare on the ground. "...Brother?" Ed's head snapped up to look at his younger brother, blinking in question. "Why...?" Al paused, not sure how to word his question. He sighed and tried again. "Why did you let it go too far yesterday? Weren't you paying attention?"

Ed's eyes widened for a moment, then looked guilty. He looked away from Alphonse's face, honestly unable to answer him. Edward couldn't describe it, but there were instances when he'd think a really malicious thought about someone, or almost enjoy something like watching someone in danger. As a matter of fact, last night he'd been hoping Erin would get hurt. And though he'd felt really guilty, in the back of his mind there had been a pleased feeling when she was hurt. Ed grunted in annoyance, clenching his fists in his pockets. He had no idea what was going on with himself. "I kind of zoned out, Al," he muttered, looking to the side.

Al watched his brother determinedly study the scenery as they walked along, though he knew his brother had seen the city many times. Alphonse wanted to press on and know what was really wrong, but he could kind of sense that Ed didn't know, either. So he left the matter be and nodded. "Alright." He made sure to change his tone slightly, to let Ed know he knew there was more to it and they would probably discuss it later.

Magiere pouted up ahead, crossing her arms. She whirled around and walked backwards as she asked, "If you don't mind me asking... what have you got against Erin?" She tilted her head at him slightly, blinking her hazel eyes curiously at him. Al looked at him, too, also wondering.

Edward glanced at her, then frowned and watched the city go by again. "I _do_ mind you asking," he replied, falling silent once more.

Magiere slowly rose her eyebrows as realization dawned on her face. "...You've never really met her before, have you?" At Ed's grimace, Magiere's eyebrows furrowed. "_Have you_?"

Seeing his brother was probably going to snap at Magiere, Alphonse answered, "No, he hasn't." Magiere looked at him, blinking in slight surprise. She then gave him a small, sweet smile that clearly displayed her thanks.

Returning her attention back to Ed, Magiere said, "Look, I know you might have your reasons for disliking her, but I try to keep from making it a habit to judge people by one mistake or slip-up, or if I don't even really know them." She gave him an encouraging smile and Edward looked at her.

"You don't know her, either. You just met yesterday," he said flatly, taking his hands out of his pockets to cross his arms.

Magiere smirked at him and shrugged. "And that's why I'm not judging her." She laughed merrily at his surprised expression, turning back to face forward.

Alphonse chuckled at the two and looked to his brother as he said, "She certainly told you, didn't she?" Ed's cheek twitched again.

"...Oh, shut up."


End file.
